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Franken touts bill that would help recruit, train school principals

DFL Sen. Al Franken visited a St. Paul elementary school Wednesday morning to tout a bill that would help recruit and train principals to work in high-need schools.

Franken visited Dayton's Bluff Elementary School to learn how the school increased student achievement and test scores.

Franken praised the school's principal for leading the efforts and said he'd like the government to provide roughly $200 million in competitive grants to help other schools recruit and keep quality administrators.

"Principals actually do create an ethos in the school," Franken said. "If you read research of what are the factors in the school and they are the teachers, the principal and the ethos of the school. The ethos comes from the leader."

The bill has bipartisan support in the Senate. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah is a co-author of the legislation.